The present invention relates to ceramics obtained by compositing whiskers or platelets, and forming and sintering them under normal pressure, as well as to a method for making thereof, and a cylinder liner for automobile engine, a pipe coupling, a stoke, a heater tube and a pot used for ball milling, particularly to high strength and high toughness ceramics formed and sintered under normal pressure, as well as to a method for making thereof.
A technical development in ceramics has made it possible to use ceramics in conventionally unthinkable applications such as automobile engine parts, bearings and cutting tools.
However, ceramics have essentially a property "brittle", which is a cause of throttling the extension of their applications.
Japan Laid-Open Publication Nos. 58/104069 and 62/265173 relate to ceramics compositing short fibers produced by hot press method or HIP-method.
But hot press method or HIP-method requires large scale facilities, is expensive, and has a problem that it is difficult to produce articles of complicated shapes such as tubular objects.
The present invention has a purpose of providing a ceramics article of high strength and superior toughness.
The present invention also discloses a method for making a ceramics article by forming and sintering this ceramics article of high strength and superior toughness under normal pressure without using hot press method or HIP-method. Forming and sintering under normal pressure makes it possible to produce ceramics of high strength, superior toughness and complicated shapes cheaply, which will result in further more extended applications of ceramics.